IG vs OANDA

IG Group Holdings plc is a FTSE 100 company listed on the London Stock Exchange (LSE: IGG) and regulated through entities under the FCA, ASIC, BaFin, FINMA, MAS, and JFSA, among others — one of the broadest regulatory footprints in the industry. OANDA is regulated by the CFTC/NFA in the US, the FCA in the UK, ASIC in Australia, CIRO in Canada, and MAS in Singapore. OANDA changed hands in December 2025, acquired by the Czech prop-trading firm FTMO from previous owner CVC Capital Partners, with FTMO committing to run it as a standalone regulated brokerage rather than folding it into FTMO's challenge model. IG's public-company status and longer, uninterrupted ownership history give it a slight edge on institutional stability.

IG lists more than 17,000 tradable CFD markets spanning forex, indices, shares, commodities, and crypto, plus a share dealing account and Stocks and Shares ISA in the UK — a genuinely wide product set for a single broker. OANDA's instrument range is narrower, concentrated in forex, indices, commodities, a smaller set of CFDs, and crypto, and doesn't publish an exact instrument count. Traders who want to diversify well beyond currency pairs, or who want spread betting or ISA wrappers in the UK, will find far more choice at IG.

IG advertises EUR/USD spreads from 0.6 pips, though independent testing in late 2025 found a real-world average closer to 0.9-1.0 pips on standard accounts; its DMA service (Forex Direct/L2 Dealer) needs a larger account (around $1,000) and charges from roughly $6 per 100k lot. OANDA's Standard pricing is spread-only from around 1.0-1.7 pips, with a Core tier offering raw spreads from about 0.1-0.4 pips plus a small per-side commission, though Core typically requires around $10,000 to open. Neither broker is the cheapest in the industry; IG's inactivity fee ($12/month after 24 months) and OANDA's regional inactivity fee (around $10-14/month after 12 months, not charged in the US) both matter less for active traders than for dormant accounts.

IG offers five ways to trade: its own web/mobile platform, MT4, MT5, TradingView charting, and L2 Dealer for direct market access — the widest platform lineup of the two. OANDA supports MT4 everywhere, MT5 in most regions outside the US, its own OANDA Trade platform, TradingView execution in supported regions, and an API/Algo Labs offering for automated trading. OANDA's mobile app has repeatedly won 'Best in Class' recognition from ForexBrokers.com (2025 and 2026), and its research arm, MarketPulse, is similarly well regarded, so OANDA closes much of the platform gap with strong execution quality rather than sheer breadth.

This is OANDA's standout advantage: OANDA Corporation is registered with the CFTC and a member of the NFA, making it one of a limited number of forex brokers still serving US retail clients directly. IG no longer serves US retail forex clients under its own brand — since a June 2024 rebrand, new US clients are directed to tastyfx, a separate brand under the same IG Group corporate umbrella. Traders based in the US who specifically want the IG brand and its full market range will need to look elsewhere or use tastyfx instead.

IG's Trustpilot score sits around 3.7/5 from roughly 10,000 reviews, with recurring complaints about long wait times and an unhelpful initial chatbot layer, though human agents are generally described as competent once reached. OANDA's support runs Sunday 4pm to Friday 6pm ET via live chat, phone, and email, and the company replies to the large majority of negative Trustpilot reviews, though some complaints cite withdrawal and verification delays. Neither is a standout for speed, but IG's broader multi-language, multi-region support desk gives it a marginal edge for non-English-speaking clients.